Game Change (DVD)

This is very realistic with Moore's acting being extraordinary. She really seems to actually be Sarah Palin in the movie including the accent she adapted to sound like Sarah Palin. I am not a Sarah Palin fan but Moore's balanced portrayal left me feeling much more sympathy for what Palin and her family went through in her deciding to accept the nomination for Vice President than I had previously felt. While we all know Palin has made a lot of mistakes and has showed her basic ignorance about a lot of issues on national TV, I never really thought about what humiliating herself like that made her feel. Yes, she seems strong as nails and confident in public but in the movie some of this is depicted as bravado and I think that anybody ridiculed the way she was ridiculed had to have some human reactions as a result...e.g. depression, self doubt and anger. I think that, even though I disagree with her political position, I would respect Palin more if she could just admit that she is wrong or misinformed about certain things. The fact that she defends her mistakes in the light of them being blatantly false makes me think she would be dangerous in a powerful position and this movie supports my opinion in this area. As usual Ed Harris gives a great performance but Woody Harrelson gives one of the best performances that I have ever seen him give and that is saying a lot. I hope he won an Emmy like Moore did for this movie. One final thing. When this film came out there was considerable criticism that it was not an accurate account of McCain's choice to make Palin his running mate or a fair portrayal of Sarah Palin. I disagree with that criticism and my stance was formed by many other sources besides the book of the same name on which this movie is based. These sources are not only other books and articles but Palin's own words and actions. Almost everything in this movie that is not a dramatized depiction of the characters in private can be corroborated by other reputable sources and, therefore, I think this movie is very informative as well as very entertaining Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend this movie and bought it for several people...including somebody I know who LOVES Palin...for Christmas and they all liked the movie as much as I did. Truly a "must see."

I'm sure there are few among us who can forget the words and actions of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the 2008 Presidential election where she was selected as Senator John McCain's running mate against Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I'm sure there are even fewer who can forget the spot-on impersonation of the Governor by SNL's Tina Fay. Well, Julianne Moore brings us another stunningly accurate performance that will leave you simaltaniously baffled and rolling on the floor...line these three ladies up and you'll be hard-pressed to identify the real person. Find out exactly what happened and the short-comings in the senator's campaign's vetting process when she became their "game change". See the staff's reactions to the governor's most infamous interviews and statements. And, even if you know that it is Obama who is ultimately elected (sorry for any spoilers), you'll find yourself engrossed by this plot. Based on the book of the same name which goes much further and analyzes just about every aspect of the 2008 presidential election, this movie has no short-comings despite the fact it only shows us 1/3 of it's printed source material. I do have to say that I most enjoyed Ed Harris's performance as John McCain. Perhaps Julianne Moore's performance might have had more of an impact had we not seen Tina Fay's performances beforehand. That isn't to say that Ms. Moore's performance wasn't steller and deserving of praise, but Mr. Harris' performance gave us some serious prospective on John McCain's character, expanding it far beyond what the media has often shown us. This is an excellent film, just shy of being a documentary of what went on in the Republican party's campaign back in 2008. A must-have. Enjoy.

"Game Change", the HBO movie that premiered on Mar 10, 2012, is a relatively brief part of the book, "Game Change", written by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin and published in 2010. Basically, the book covers both the Democratic and Republican primaries and general election of 2008. The HBO producers - and Tom Hanks was one of them - decided t0 concentrate on the REAL "Game Change", the selection of Sarah Palin by John McCain as his running mate. Okay, three years, almost four, have passed since August 29, 2008. It was John McCain's birthday and also the launching of the Republican "secret weapon" - Alaska's governor Sarah Palin - as his running mate. Cast a woman for the VP slot, McCain was urged by his advisers, including Steve Schmidt. So the campaign searched around that early August for a "game changer". They looked at some of the Republican women governors and senators. Hawaii's governor Linda Lingle? Nah, not glamorous enough. Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison? Too old. Maine's two senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins? Meh...definitely not glamorous enough. All hardworking Republican women politicians who had worked their way up the political ladder, earning respect from their constituents and their political colleagues. However, Sarah Palin, then the first-term governor of Alaska... Now, there was someone with sex-appeal that never appeared to end. (Remember, these are white, middle-aged Republican men doing the choosing - and vetting). Not shown in the film was the fact that Sarah Palin had been on Republican "radar" for a while. She had met - and charmed - members of the Republican establishment during two Alaskan cruise stops in Juneau, where she was introduced to Bill Kristol and other Republican stalwarts. In so much of a hurry to blunt the edge that Barack Obama had received during his nomination, held a few days before the Republican convention, McCain and his staff - after a minimum of vetting - asked Sarah Palin if she would accept the nomination for Vice-President. "Yes, sir", she sure would, seemingly very self-assured by the chance to hit the big time and sure that it was "God's will" that she accept the nomination, despite her woeful unpreparedness for the second highest job in the world. Anyone reading this review knows that Sarah Palin was one errant cancer-cell away from the Presidency if the McCain/Palin ticket had won in November. The movie, "Game Change", with great performances by Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, and Woody Harrelson as well as by an excellent supporting cast tells the story of that 11 week campaign/nightmare as McCain and his team slowly learned how unprepared Sarah Palin was for the job of Vice-President. As the possibility of having unleashed Sarah Palin onto the country finally became clear to Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace, they began to realise the folly of the campaign's decision to nominate Palin. The acting is matched by the intelligence of the screenplay and direction in "Game Change". I think it will end up as one of the classic American political movies and serve as a warning that a wink and fancy pageant walk do not make a viable Vice President.

Very entertaining look at the impact Sarah Palin had on McCain's presidential campaign.

I know this is a film based on the 2008 Republican presidential campaign, but I found it to be an ABSOLUTELY fascinating story of EXPECTATIONS and of REALITY. Before becoming the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla -- population 7,831 (2010 census). She was tapped to be the running mate of John McCain (whom I admire) with high hopes of wowing the American public. She did so in the beginning -- until she started talking. Bit awkward since she clearly showed no knowledge of American policies (domestic or foreign). My hat off to Julianne Moore for portraying Sarah Palin so perfectly, and to Woody Harrelson and Ed Harris for their great acting! Moral of the story - even with the best intentions by a group of very smart people, you can't make up for the person's ignorance. This movie reminds me of Will Rogers' quote: "When you know you are full of bull, keep your mouth shut." All that aside, this is a wonderful movie to see!

This movie comes across as a docudrama, but for all its interesting surface, it fails to get into how these very public people became who they were at this time in their lives. It's disappointing in that sense. But it does feature good performances by Julianne Moore and Ed Harris, and an outstanding one by Woody Harrell. An easy watch, but could've been much more.

B'm putting four stars because of the acting reacting and Superman and the film is very well made however being a liberal democratic socialist I am a huge supporter of Sarah Palin and I do not believe she completely actors the way she is portrayed in this film if anybody wants to know anything about Sarah Palin I suggest you read her books and read the film or watch the film undefeated she is not this crazy monster lady that people say she is she was the most ridicule Canada I've ever seen in my life and she is just a typical mom with a family that is not a political insider and just because she's pro life and pro guns and basically a conservative woman basically people feel that she needs to be hated but if it was a liBguys wouldn't care. Sarah on a wonderful women. Ed Harris did great looking like McCain and portraying that gentlemen gentelness and kindness he portrays. I will always regret voting for a man who risked his life for nothing snd almost died in vain over Obama. McCain was the better man.

Let me write a short review, because nobody reads the long ones. I've watched this movie, now, about three times. I loved it. It is FREAKISH how J. Moore looks like Ms. Palin. Of course, we don't know how accurate the portrayal is, BUT, it made me squirm. I always felt bad for Sarah Palin--she wasn't qualified to be a weather-girl after taking 6 years to get her college degree in communications from 3 universities--let alone be 2nd-in-line to hold the keys to the nuclear arsenal. To me, the movie was more a reflection on Mr. McCain. This "game changer" would have likely been one of many political blunders for the elderly stateman. This movie isn't about politics. It is about how we, as Americans, are gullible for a beautiful, not-so-intelligent woman. Sex sells. Sarah Palin is sexy. And, she could have been our VP. Scary. Freakin' scary. Great movie. Well done.